The Minority Caucus in Parliament has condemned the contempt of court proceedings against Hon. Ernest Yaw Kumi, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Akwatia, describing it as a threat to justice and democratic principles.
The Caucus, at a press conference in Parliament on Thursday, questioned the handling of the legal proceedings and accused the presiding judge, His Lordship Justice Emmanuel Senyo Amedahe, of bias and judicial overreach.
The legal battle stems from an Election Petition filed on December 31, 2024, by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for Akwatia, Hon. Henry Boakye-Yiadom.
On the same day, an ex-parte motion for an interim injunction was filed and subsequently granted on January 2, 2025, by Justice Amedahe. The order was communicated to Hon. Kumi via WhatsApp, a move the Minority Caucus described as highly irregular.
Hon. Kumi’s legal team, led by Counsel Gary Nimako Marfo, argued that the injunction was granted without jurisdiction since the election results had not yet been gazetted.
In his submission, he cited Article 99(1) of the 1992 Constitution and Sections 16 and 18 of the Representation of the People Law (PNDCL 284), which stipulates that an election petition can only be filed within 21 days of gazette publication.
“Gari Nimako argued that the High Court cannot properly assume jurisdiction over an election petition until the results have been gazetted.
A central point of contention was whether the parliamentary results had been officially gazetted at the time the petition was filed.
The judge relied on a press conference by Dr. Bossman Asare, Deputy Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), who claimed that 274 constituencies had been gazetted as of December 25, 2024.
However, the Minority Caucus led by the Deputy Whip Jerry Ahmed Shaib, argued that the actual Ghana Gazette publication for Akwatia was dated January 6, 2025, meaning the election petition was premature.
“The law requires tangible proof of gazetting, not news articles or press statements. How does a press conference equate to official gazetting,” he questioned?
The Minority further accused the judge of showing clear bias by refusing to hear an application for his recusal and proceeding with the contempt charge despite a pending Supreme Court application challenging his jurisdiction.
According to the Minority Whip, Hon. Kumi has since filed an application for Certiorari and Prohibition at the Supreme Court to quash the entire election petition and all related rulings.
Despite the Supreme Court being seized with the matter, Justice Amedahe proceeded with the contempt case, prompting further accusations of judicial overreach.
“Why was the judge in such a hurry to convict Hon. Kumi? This smacks of an agenda,” he stated.
The Caucus warned against what they described as attempts to use the judiciary to subvert the democratic will of the people of Akwatia.
“Ghana’s democracy thrives on fairness and the rule of law. We cannot sit back and watch the judiciary be used as a political weapon. Any attempt to undermine the will of the people must be resisted,” he said.
The Minority called on civil society organizations, legal bodies, and the general public to ensure due process is upheld in the case, stressing that the matter is bigger than one MP and that it is about safeguarding Ghana’s democratic institutions.
